


Pax Rocks

by tronjolras



Category: A Crown of Candy - Fandom, Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: Emotional healing?, NaNoWriMo2020, One Shot, Post-Canon, in MY fanfic?, ye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27347530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tronjolras/pseuds/tronjolras
Summary: ‘“Emperor,” she says.She can’t see his face, but she knows exactly what expression he’s making: a upward twist of his lips, the off-kilter cant of his eyebrows, a little bit of light in his eyes.“You think…” Amethar shifts and scratches his chin while she continues to watch out of the corner of her eye. “... You think Laz ever saw this coming?”Caramelinda is startled into a laugh that cuts through the night.’What if Amethar and Caramelinda were bros? I just think that would be neat.
Relationships: Amethar Rocks & Caramelinda Rocks, Caramelinda Rocks/Lazuli Rocks
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Pax Rocks

Caramelinda has the unnerving realization that she and Amethar may be thinking alike when he appears on the quiet terrace. Across Comida, across the entire empire, really, the people celebrate their newly crowned emperor but the terrace off the emperor’s rooms is the eye of this storm.

She knows Amethar has come for the same reason she has because he utters a disappointed little “oh” when he sees her. He plants one hand on the doorframe as if the world will go woozy without its support (which is not the product of drink, she is happy to note).

“It’s quiet up here,” she says when she can’t quite bring herself to offer him an invitation to stay.

His eyes drift across the panorama before them. Down in the streets below, Amethar’s subjects still revel, but all that makes it to the balcony is a discordant jumble of multiple musicians and the occasional shout, beyond that, there is only the silence of the moon and the sea.

He agrees with a nod. Yes, it is quiet.

She turns back out to look at the view. 

In a handful of hesitant steps, Amethar is beside her. He mirrors her, hunching over his forearms as he leans on the wide stone railing. 

“Emperor.” It’s some habitually cruel reflex that forces the word past her lips.

Amethar’s shoulders fall. “Yeah… Empress.”

She can’t see his face, but she knows exactly what expression he’s making: a upward twist of his lips, the off-kilter cant of his eyebrows, a little bit of light in his eyes. 

“You think…” Amethar shifts and scratches his chin while she continues to watch out of the corner of her eye. “... You think Laz ever saw this coming?”

Caramelinda is startled into a laugh that cuts through the night. 

“Probably,” she replies, which earns her Amethar’s own grunt of quiet laughter. 

They go back to their silence. It is one of their more companionable ones.

They aren’t touching, but they are standing close enough to feel the warmth from each other’s skin as the night turns cool.

“Turning in for the night?” she asks. She doesn’t know how to scrub the reproof from her voice, so she tries to explain herself: “You have an early morning tomorrow,” but it only sounds more… 

“Yeah. Just wanted some air.” Amethar waves his hand out, gesturing carelessly and his voice is hollow. Caramelinda can’t shake the feeling that she throws herself continually in the way of his happiness, his peace.

“Ruby?”

Amethar straightens up and hits the railing with his hand. “Saw her a little while ago with Annabelle Cheddar.”

Caramelinda snorts a laugh in spite of herself. She raises a hand over her mouth as Amethar pauses and looks at her for an explanation. 

Caramelinda just shakes her head and shrugs. “I don’t know if I should be pleased or horrified.”

“Be pleased. She’s happy.” Amethar's voice is bitterly cold. He doesn’t often turn cruel, but she likes it when he does. That’s what's wrong with her, that she relates to her husband most when they lay each other low like that. 

She nods. He is right.

He turns to leave, but at the last moment, Caramelinda reaches out a hand and catches him by the arm. It surprises them both. 

“You were… you did well today.”

He does smile as he places his hand over hers. “Thanks.”

“I was proud to be standing next to you.” 

“Thanks.” He squeezes her hand once before letting it drop. She can tell he doesn’t believe her words for all that they mean, but she does mean them.

He looks between the door and her. An errant shout from the party below penetrates their silence. 

“I meant that, Amethar” she says, unable to let it lie like she might have in the past. “I was proud. I  _ am _ proud.”

“C’mon, Caramelinda. I’m not the girls—“ his voice dies but Caramelinda hears the correction as clearly as if he had said it aloud. “You don’t have to—“

“Can’t I pay you a compliment?” 

He gives her a sardonic look and comes back to the railing, leaning back against the stone to indulge her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She looks up at him nervously.

Amethar crosses his arms. “Well good. I didn’t know.”

“What? You think I’d say anything just to be nice?” She has worked up to a wry grin, which gets Amethar to laugh truly and loudly.

They laugh together and though it doesn’t last long, Caramelinda’s heart feels lighter by the time they’re back leaning against the balcony side by side.

“I should go back in,” he says, “early day tomorrow.”

“Right.”

Neither of them move.

“Look, Caramelinda—“

“I’m sorry.” They speak at the same time but Amethar is the one who stops and waits for her to continue.

She sighs. This will not be her first attempt at expressing her remorse to him. “... I’m sorry that we seem to have spent the last twenty years making each other miserable.”

Amethar takes it like a slap to the face, which to him is not the most insulting of blows; just a jerk back and a wrinkle of his nose, disgust, really. “Caramelinda, I never wanted you to be unhappy.”

There’s a prick of tears at the corner of her eyes when she admits the same: “I didn’t want to make you unhappy either. I’m sorry that I did.”

Amethar nods slowly. She can watch him think, stewing over every word, but all he comes back with is, “We had some good times, you know when the girls were younger.”

“When they needed us.” 

She doesn’t think that Amethar fully agrees with the finality of that statement, but he nods anyway. “Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

He’s not looking at her, so she watches him. His thumb brushes his lip and he seems to come to a decision. “Well. That’s all back in Candia,” he says, ”I forgive you.”

“Don’t.” Caramelinda is surprised by how patronized she feels, no matter if Amethar means to be or not. (He doesn’t, of course)

“Why not?” There’s some part of him, she sees, that is amused by her.

Caramelinda has to think. She’s not looking for pity and maybe she’s given up her initial desire to be understood by him, but she gives him the truth anyway. “Because I wouldn’t. Not so easily, anyway.”

He laughs again. “You can just add it to the list of things I’ve done that you don’t approve of.” 

He lets the joke land and then hits the railing between them and stands. “Are you going to be out here for a while?”

She shakes her head and hugs her arms. “No. It’s getting cold, I think.” 

“Alright.” He leaves rubbing the back of his neck. They’re both still tired. The siege of Castle Candy was barely a month ago. They’re here in Comida now on the top of the Pyramid. It’s such a strange and uncommon series of events that Caramelinda suddenly doubts whether Lazuli even could have seen this.

“Help me, Laz,” she mutters to herself.

“Caramelinda.”

She looks up sharply and sees Amethar waiting in the doorway, silhouetted by the light from indoors. 

“Yes?” She’s embarrassed that he might have heard her, but he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as he stood with one hand on the door frame just like when he came out. 

“I was proud of you today too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just want them to be friends!
> 
> So... I didn’t quite get to the emotional resolution that I wanted to here so maybe there’ll be some more chapters in the future about them becoming bros once they move to Comida????
> 
> (Also, lowkey Ruby Rocks x Annabelle Cheddar rights!)
> 
> Anyway, you can follow me on tumblr @fairwellersmustache for more Dimension 20 stuff because I have yet to see Unsleeping City or Pirates of Leviathan, but I’m probably going to be rewatching A Crown of Candy first lol.


End file.
